TFP 1: Project: Adaptation
by Karra Greenfield
Summary: Introduction of a Original Character paying homage to G1 into the Transformers Prime continuity. Takes place after the episode Grill.
1. Prologue

Project: Adaptation

_[Location: Unknown]_

The laboratory was dark, lit sparsely by monitor screens, emergency lighting, and a stack of blue glowing crystals stacked towards the center of the room. The air was stale from the air system being shut down, trapping its one occupant with the stench of mechanical fluids and fumes.

She made her way over to the main computer by feel mostly, the metallic floor jagged from the earthquake that shook the structure not fifteen minutes before. She was fortunate that it was still a sturdy structure despite the years it had apparently been abandoned. She had hidden under the work bench that her project rested on, gladly to have sacrificed it for her own life.

With the rough feel of the worn keyboard under her fingertips she began to enter the commands she needed to get the back-up generator online. Without it operating the air system she would suffocate soon, her head already swimming from the sour air she was taking in.

A thrum reverberated through the laboratory. Good, the back-up was online. Next coding went in to getting the air system back online. It took a few minutes, but she heard the system choking on itself as a small breeze moved past her. It was something, but chances were it wasn't going to be enough.

With a sigh she got the lights to come on, but was only successful with less than maybe half of the lighting. Most of it was focused over the project behind her. On a huge table that spanned over half of the room itself rested a mechanical form.

With a look back to see if it was damaged, the woman gave a tired sigh. Guess she wasn't blessed that easily. Turning back to her computer she began her video report.

"This is Ellan Greer, head and only worker on Project: Adaptation in reference to Elite Soldier Number One. Again I state for the record that I am doing this AGAINST MY WILL." She took in a breath of the still sour air. "Apparently a major earthquake struck the area and the laboratory suffered some damage. Unfortunately the project seems to have survived."

She sat back in her chair a bit, the old thing squeaking in protest. "Also the main power seems to have been damaged and so, too, have the air circulation systems. My air is bad and doesn't seem to be getting any better with the back-up systems running. Silas, you soulless bastard, I'll make sure you pay for what you've done."

As the room around her began to shake again, causing bits of dirt and metal to shower down, Ellan bolted from her chair and ran as fast as she could back to the table. The stack of energon crystals had shaken loose from its original placement, and now danced around the floor in a noisy clatter. She lost her footing as she tried to jump over the sizeable crystals, stumbling and hitting her head on the side of the table. With herself dazed, she couldn't move as more of the large crystals fell behind her on her legs, pinning her to the table with the metallic creature she despised so much.

Above her one of the light supporting girders gave and swung down towards her. She only had time to look up at it as it approached from behind. A jagged piece of metal stabbed through the abdomen from behind, the live wires sparking. The electricity shot through her body, reacting to the crystals around her. Pain and fire shot through her body as she was electrocuted, her natural response to reach out for safety causing her to grip the metallic creature's arm. The world blacked out around her as the rumbling eased.

When she came to, her head was in pieces. Giving a groan she reached up to rub her forehead but was greeted with the most awful sound of metal scraping across metal. Opening her eyes she had to blink a few times. She was seeing a data read out like what the cameras gave her through the creature's optics. System diagnostics, energy level, and other motor functions needed for a machine. She sat up, looking at the metal girder that rested across her legs. And she froze.

It wasn't her legs she was looking at, it was the machine's legs. Focusing on the girder, she reached out and gently picked it up, feeling sick as she watched the body that was trapped under it move with it, since it was still pinned like a bug. The energon crystals were dark, their energy expended.

Forcing her hands to be steady, she gently cradled the body in them, pulling it free from the girder. It was her body. Her long red hair that she kept braided back. Her blue jeans that had holes worn in them from excessive use. The burnt and bloody lab coat she had been given to wear while she worked in this prison. And the black shirt she was given as a spare when she had complained long enough about needing clean clothing.

The worst idea ever had happened. Her nightmare came true. She was trapped in that metallic monstrosity's body! Cradling her old body close to her she looked up and around to see what had survived of the building. There was some natural light coming from across the room. Apparently the building she had been trapped in wasn't as structurally sound as she had thought. Good thing, now she could get some help.

Gently cradling her body with one hand on her torso, like a mother holding a child, she found her feet and slowly made her way over towards the light. Looking into the hole, she became dismal as she realized just how far underground she really was. Fortunately the hole seemed big enough for her to climb through as she was now. Carefully, as to not crush her human body, Ellan slowly made her way up to the surface.

_[Location: Outside of Jasper, Nevada]_

Despite all warnings from Ratchet about going out after the trimmers that had hit, Miko was not about ready to pass up her opportunity for her favorite activity. Having Bulkhead rush at his top speed down a nearly sheer cliff side. It was a beautiful afternoon, even if all the news talked about was the earthquake that happened almost a hundred miles north of the Autobot base.

Bulkhead was as into the activity as his human was when a blip appeared on his radar. Skidding to a halt at the bottom of the ride, he did a near three-sixty as he focused.

"Whoohooo!" the human strapped in his passenger seat hollered with her arms out in a victorious pose. "That was great Bulk! Do it again!"

"Hold up, Miko. I picked something up on my scanners."

"Awww…" naturally the Japanese teen sulked in her seat at having to wait.

The heavy duty green truck drove towards where the signal was coming from. It was energon. Almost walking energon, by the way it was moving. "Bulkhead to base. Ratchet, are you getting this?"

At the base the medical bot was looking at his screen as the readout gave him the same thing that Bulkhead's sensors had picked up. "It is an energon signature. Very faint and appears to be moving. I'm opening up a ground bridge for you and sending you to investigate."

"Understood."

"Alright!" Miko hopped about in her seat as her bot drove towards the blue portal. "About time we got some action!"

"Miko, there's no telling what we're going to find there, so stay put if I have to transform." Again he felt the little woman pouting in her seat as they drove the much shorter distance through the ground bridge.

It opened up deep in the desert, the hot air and sand blowing past them. Not too far off a large figure was walking east, against the wind. It had turned as the ground bridge opened up to its left and watched as a large green truck emerged.

Bulkhead came to a stop as he watched the figure turn towards them, seeing the human it was cradling in its arms like a child. When it started to walk closer to them both he and Miko saw the blue line of liquid energon running down its legs from a wound to its side. Letting Miko out, Bulkhead transformed and held up his hands to the figure.

"We're not going to hurt you…" he said as gently as he could.

The metallic being just looked in his eyes and held the human out to him with both of its hands. "Help … me…" was all it said before it collapsed, the human landing limply in the Autobot's hands.

"Bulkhead to Ratchet. We have a situation here…"

[Author's Note]

HUGE THANKS TO Anonymous BW FG for letting me know that I put the whole wrong chapter for my Prologue! It's been that way for goodness almost two whole months. *blush* I'm so sorry for everyone that has read it and not understood exactly what happened.

I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS PRIME NOR ANY CHARACTER IN THE SHOW. I'm just a fan that wanted to have a bit of fun with adding an OC into the TF Prime world.

Thank you for taking your time to read this and I hope to have more posted soon.


	2. Chapter 1

_[Location: Autobot Base]_

Ratchet frowned as he looked from the diagnostic screen back to the robot laying on his work table and the human body on its own bed beside it. He had rushed through an open ground bridge at Bulkheads call to help at his comrade request. Miko was quick to go back to the base, for some odd reason holding her nose, through the ground bridge which left the bots to deal with the mechanical figure and the human it had with it.

The mechanical being was only a bit more than a base skeleton of metal, wires, and hydraulics with only bare minimum plating around the figure's hips and torso, as if more to protect the wires and systems there than to cover. Personally it was revolting that this figure was only partially covered. If the human with it had something to do with its creation, then it might have been an attempt at a female form in its shape, which would explain why there was only a few bits of covering over certain areas.

The squeal of tires and the rev of an engine proceeded the entrance of Arcee and her two passengers. Jack and his mother had been enjoying the rare day that the mother had off from work and Arcee was enjoying the ride with them. That was until they had gotten the call for June's assistance at the base.

The motorcycle bot waited until her passengers had disembarked before she transformed. "What's the emergency, Ratchet?"

Jack and his mother were pulling their helmets off, the young man taking a deep breath as he did and gagged a bit as he waved his hand in front of his face. "What died?"

"Dude!" Miko shouted down from the observation platform that ran through the majority of the room, "You should have smelt it when we first brought them here."

"Them?" the young man asked.

June Darby was rushing towards Ratchet, recalling the last time she was needed by the Autobots when Rafael's life was in danger because of Megatron. When she rounded the medic bot her jaw dropped. Recalling herself she made her way to the medical bed to look at the woman laying there. She couldn't imagine what had caused the damage to the woman's abdomen, with the burnt skin around the hole.

After snapping a pair of gloves over her hands she reached down to the woman's wrist, not surprised at the lack of a pulse. June even double checked the woman's neck, her findings the same. "She's dead. And by the smell it's been a while."

"Oh… man…" Jack said having stepped up beside his mother to look down at the woman. Then he looked past the body at the larger one beside it. "What is that?"

"That's who was carrying the woman," Ratchet answered, carefully stepping up behind the mother and son.

"Who is it?"

"We don't know." The red and white based being rubbed his chin with thought. "It has no bio-signature that we have on record. There is no telling if it is an Autobot, Decepticon, or of other origin. I have sent Bulkhead back out into the area to see if there is a downed ship in the area. It could have been the cause of the earthquake last night." Moving back to his main console, Ratchet continued, "We'll know more when Bulkhead reports in."

_[Location: Unknown crater in the desert]_

Bulkhead looked around as the sun set on his left hand side. He had followed the drips of liquid energon from where they encountered the strange robot carrying the human to the hole that it apparently had crawled out of, at the base of a small mountain. Lifting a hand to his ear he activated his communicator.

"Bulkhead to base, I found where that strange bot had crawled out from. If it is a crashed ship, then it wasn't recently. This rock face doesn't have the whole 'crashed ship' look to it."

"_The epicenter of the earthquake is only a half a mile north of your current position,"_ the older bot replied over the com. _"There might be something more in the area."_

"Aside from a giant hole in the ground? Not that I can see."

"_Are you able to fit in it?"_

"Negative. By the size of the hole, I think that bot was barely able to get out carrying that human with it."

"_I'm bridging Arcee to your location."_ And no sooner had he spoken the words did the ground bridge open up in front of Bulkhead, the blue female Autobot stepping from its glow before it powered down. She walked over to and knelt by the hole as the sun finally descended from the sky, allowing the moon to illuminate their query.

"I can fit into it," the motorcycle said as she stood up and activated her communicator. "Ratchet, I'm going in."

"_Understood."_

Carefully making her way into the entrance due to the shifting sand, Arcee was able to grab a hold of the rock and slowly climbed her way down. It took nearly an hour of Earth time, but she was able to drop the last few feet onto a bed of sand that had gathered in the dark. Shifting her hands into her weapons and activating her lights, she began a sweep of what was left of the laboratory while Ratchet and those at the base watched on the monitor.

"It looks some sort of base," Jack said.

"A creepy looking one at that." Miko chimed in.

Arcee was careful in her sweep, taking everything in, from the broken support beams to the main computer system, to the table that was surrounded by spent energon crystals that were covered in congealed human blood. There was also a set of doors across the way.

Opening the first one she could see a very modest human bedroom. A pile of old blankets, one rolled up to be used as a pillow, and next to it was a book. Since she couldn't fit through the doorway, Arcee had to transform one blaster back into its hand component and stretch through the doorway to reach the small item and tucked it into an armored pocket in her back plating. The next set of doors not far to the right of the bedroom was blocked by some fallen girders.

Finding the current area void of threat, the motorcycle transformed her remaining weaponry back to her hand and proceeded to lift and toss them out of the way and pried open the doors with her hands.

She was able to fit through the doors, but had to kneel to do so. Glancing first one way and then the other she touched her ear. "Do you see this Ratchet?"

"_It looks like a rail transit system. That explains how the human might have gotten down there, but not why."_

"I picked up a book from a lodging area. I'll also grab the drives from the computer system here and let you and Rafael have a look at them." Arcee stood back up and looked into the room again as she made her way back over to the sizeable computer station, compared to a human at least. "There's also spent energon down here." She had already opened up the computer top and grabbed the hard drives from inside the machine before she stood up. "If you would be so kind as to open a ground bridge for me, Ratchet. It's getting a bit tight down here."

The light given off from the ground bridge gave the place an even eerier glow before Arcee stepped through and headed home. No sooner did the ground bridge wink shut than a rumbling came from the large doors that Arcee had peeked her head through as a rail car came grinding to a halt at them. A team of M.E.C.H. soldiers came rushing out, their weapons drawn, sweeping the area as they advanced into it. They took in the mess and damage done by the earthquake, but were unable to find the woman that was suppose to be working there. They also found the computer system a mess and the project missing.

_[Location: Autobot base]_

Arcee slowly made her way out of the ground bridge transport and over to Ratchet. Bulkhead had already returned prior to, and apparently so had Optimus Prime and Bumblebee with Rafael. "The place was a mess," she said as she passed the hard drives to the young boy. Then she pulled out the book from her back armored pocket and held it up. "I also found this in where the human was apparently staying."

Miko, standing on the raised area with the rest of them, but was the closest to Arcee's hand, yanked the book free and began to flip through it. "Somebody's old diary? Well, not like she'll ever know we were looking through it." June frowned at the teen's lack of respect for the dead, but kept to herself about it.

Ever patient Optimus Prime waited for the prodigy to crack open the files and let the first one start to play, everyone else focusing on the screen as well.

The file fizzled to life, showing a laboratory void of life and large crates stacked up against the wall on the other side of a work table that easily filled over half of the screen. The double doors that exited to the railway had opened, several M.E.C.H. soldiers filing out. One was leading a woman in a orange dress shirt tucked into blue jeans, whose arms were bound behind them and a sack over her head, into the room.

Once in front of the computer system the escorting soldier pulled the bag from over the woman's head. It was the woman whose body was now resting in a separate room to spare everyone from the stench, and on the screen she didn't look happy.

"Greetings, Ms. Greer." It was Silas' voice, crackled as if coming from speakers instead of the room itself. "I have need of your talents."

"I have nothing to offer you, you jerk." She spat the words at the screen.

"Oh, but you do." The head of M.E.C.H. said too smoothly. "We have the schematics for you, as well as all the parts. All we need from you is to create an acceptable A.I. for Project: Adaptation."

"What on Earth for?"

"That is for me to know, and for you to simply obey."

The woman's fiery temper flared as she struggled in her bonds. "Over my dead body."

"Maybe not yours, but what of your mother's?" The woman stopped struggling, the look of horror crossing her face. "That's what I thought. Do this for me, and your mother will live to a ripe, old age."

Still numb from the threat, the woman didn't fight, or even move, when the soldier next to her undid her bonds. They all simply filed back onto the transport and the door shut, sealing in their wake. After a few moments the woman finally fell to her knees and wept into her hands, the video cutting out.

"Fa-reak," Miko muttered as the screen cut off, and then noticed Jack and his mother both staring at her. "Not her!" she objected to their stares, "Silas." She tapped the open book with her free hand. "Apparently she had been there a while, all because of some A.I. program she had written for the military in her spare time."

Rafael had unlocked another video, apparently one more towards the middle of the group. Again the woman's face was on the screen, looking tired as she was chewing on a ration bar. "This is Ellan Greer, head and only worker on Project: Adaptation in reference to Elite Soldier Number One, stating once again that I am doing this against my will." She took another bite, chewing slowly as she half turned her chair around in its place to look back at the structure forming on the table.

"I'm taking liberties in the design of the being on my table, making it look more female than male as the original blue prints they had given me." She snickered a bit at the thought. "Might start calling it Elita-One, just to further spite Silas' overstuffed male ego."

Crumpling up the wrapper in her hand she tossed it lightly to the side. "They have also made an extra delivery today. Some sort of blue crystal. The energy is… otherworldly. I guess it would have to be for what he's asking me to do. There is no real way to create an artificial intelligence like what he's wanting. He wants it to be… almost human. Something like that is beyond a created being's scope. I'm not G'd, and frankly I don't want to be." With a tired sigh, she focused back on the screen. "Do they even think I'm alive anymore?"

Rafael paused the file when the proximity alert began to go off. A few moments later the elevator door opened and out stomped Special Agent Fowler.

"Prime?" He had his hand up, pointing at the large red and blue bot, taking a deep breath when he halted and suddenly grabbed his nose. "What in the name of Uncle Sam's beard died in here?"

"Her." June's face was stern as she used her whole hand and arm to point to the screen, and the woman's face on it. "Ellan Greer."

"Ellan…Gr…" Agent Fowler looked in shock at the screen, his face showing recognition slowly. "She's been missing for months now. Did a few projects for the military."

"Apparently M.E.C.H. has had her in their possession in that time." Optimus informed the human, "until recently."

"You have her here?" Agent Fowler was getting excited. Apparently finding her was highlight of his day.

The Prime closed his optics slowly, frowning a bit. "Not before the worst had happened to her."

This calmed the man down. "Where is she?" After being shown where they were keeping the body, Agent Fowler had told them that he would take care of it all. Then he was shown the mechanical being that was carrying her in the desert.

It was while they were discussing what to do with the bot that it opened its eyes and sat up suddenly. Miko, who happened to be facing it at the time, screamed at its sudden appearance behind Bumblebee and Arcee. It wasn't facing them at the moment, but at her scream it slowly turned its head and focused on her, and then slowly the rest of the group.

"Where am I?" it said in a feminine voice tone.

"You are among friends, Elita-One." Optimus was slowly walking up to her, his hands up in a peaceful gesture.

"Elita-One?" It focused quickly on him, and then the other bots, the humans, and then the image on the screen. Her face. "No… no. No. No. No! NO!" She rushed away from them. "You work for Silas! You have to be! You're what he wanted me to make more of!"

"Wait a minute!" Jack said, rushing around to get a better look at the new bot. "We don't work for M.E.C.H. or Silas. He's the bad guy."

She focused on Jack, her blue optics wavering a bit. "Then… who are you?"

[Author's Note]

I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS PRIME NOR ANY CHARACTER IN THE SHOW. I'm just a fan that wanted to have a bit of fun with adding an OC into the TF Prime world.

Thank you for taking your time to read this and I hope to have more posted soon.


	3. Chapter 2

_[Location: Autobot Base]_

The one bot that introduced himself as Optimus Prime seemed genuine. Nice even. So too were the others in the strange room, though the little J-pop teenie she wanted to backhand through a wall. She just wouldn't shut up with all the questions about where she came from, what it was like, asking if she could fight. When they were finished introducing themselves and Optiums explaining a good chunk of their situation she was allowed to explain herself.

"My name is not Elita-One, it's Ellan Greer."

"But how is that possible?" Ratchet asked with a scoff of disbelief. "M.E.C.H. couldn't possibly have in their possession the technology needed to do a full transfer of a mind from one body to another."

"Unless you were able make an A.I. program copied off of your own brain?" Rafael asked as he stepped closer to the bot.

Ellan was looking down at her hands, slowly flexing them. "No, there was no A.I. program. I did a bunch of false coding that had enough of a strand of true coding in it to not raise suspicion." Her hands clenched into tight fists, the sound of metal grinding on metal coming from them. "This is a nightmare. I _hate_ this thing."

"So how did you end up like you are now?" June asked gingerly.

Ellan's left hand moved to the abdomen of the body she was in, her optics easing in thought as she tried her best to recall it all. "The earthquake shook things up pretty bad. I was starting to put on the outer covering plates to the machine when the lights went out and everything began shaking. With no real love for the project I hid under the table and prayed that it would be destroyed. When things quieted down I tried to get the power up and running again, since I needed air to breathe while I waited for Silas to send his lackeys for their monthly delivery of food and supplies.

"I got the back-ups running, but the whole structure was badly damaged. I began my report, my final one either way you look at it, when an aftershock hit. I was trying to get back under the table when I got pinned. One of the supports for the lights above the work table gave and well…" She gave an emotional sigh, more out of habit now with her brain processes than needing to actually intake air. "I woke up like this after being electrocuted. I died and this is hell."

Bumblebee, ever supportive, 'spoke' to her gently to reassure her. They were all rather shocked that she turned her head to him and practically yelled at the scout.

"Really? And how about we shove your mind into a human body and see how _you_ handle it." She closed her optics and sighed, "I'm sorry. Forgive me Bumblebee. I know you meant well. It's just… I can't handle this. Not very well at least. I just had my life cut short and removed from me all because of some stupid program I had written because I was sweet talked into it."

"What do you mean?" Optimus asked.

Ellan looked back up at the commander with a tilt of her head. "I had worked on the programming for a satellite tracking system that Silas had been put in charge of, all because I fiddled with robotics as a hobby."

"Project: Damocles," Agent Fowler said calmly. "As I recall, you were one of the loudest voices calling for it to be shut down."

She nodded weakly. "I didn't want my programming being used to harm innocents, as I had found out one time when Silas was gloating. When he refused, and the military was taking too long to go through their paperwork on their end, I infected the programming with a virus for just that project to force it to be mothballed. I know he never forgave me for that."

"Which is why he kidnapped you and locked you away," Arcee stated calmly. Ellan only nodded her answer. "Do you have any clue as to where they were getting the energon from?"

"The what?"

"The blue crystals that you were being given." Ratchet explained, "They are our power source and life-blood that we need to survive."

Ellan frowned a bit, her robotic face not very articulate but it conveyed enough of her thoughts. "I have no idea, but that transit system runs for miles. For all I know they could have it running through wherever they're getting it from and bringing it straight to me."

"Why was the project named Adaptation?" Agent Fowler asked, practically leaning over the railing.

She focused up on the human male. "Because he was wanting a robot with a thinking, adapting mind." She then looked at Optimus. "I'm guessing something like you all. But it's not possible. The programming for it is way too extensive for a human mind to come up with. But if Silas ever figures out that I got my mind trapped in this body then that can bypass any A.I. program he was wanting."

Optimus nodded, "A very dangerous outcome to say the least."

"The odd thing," she said quietly, "is that I haven't heard from him in a while." Everyone else shared looks with one another, piquing her curiosity. "What is it?"

"There was a confrontation directly with Silas a month or so back." Optimus told her, explaining what had happened.

"No. I don't think he's dead." Ellan shook her head, "He's too stubborn to die. And I don't think his subordinates would let him."

_[Location: Elsewhere in the Autobot base]_

Ellan sat in the room that her human body was resting in, looking down at it as it rested in the black body bag, all the while mulling over in her head the recent events in her life. She found herself trapped in the thing she had grown to hate over the months of her entrapment. She wanted to weep, but this body didn't have that function.

It was so unfair! She was the only one taking care of her mother, having joined the army to help pay for college so she could do better in that. When Silas began to make threats to her she resigned and took menial jobs here and there. That was until the night she was ran off the road.

Now she was faced with an impossible choice. Well, it was really no choice at all. The body she use to occupy was beyond saving, probably even before she woke up. Even if it was salvageable she had no idea how to get her mind back into it. She worked with hard coding, not the aspect of electrical impulse transference.

Slowly she commanded the body she was in to stand and exit the room, stopping short before she had kicked Agent Fowler. The man had jerked back, his arms raised in preparation of running into the solid form that was now her foot. Carefully she knelt down in front of him to be as close to eye level as she could.

"Have you decided yet?" he asked her gently.

She nodded, "I have. Cremate it, give it to my mother. Tell her that I had sustained mortal injuries in the car accident. Since M.E.C.H. pushed my car off a cliff it would make sense that I wouldn't have survived and very little would have been left of my body from that. Make sure that she gets my necklace."

"Are you sure you don't want to keep it? Ya know, as a memento?"

"That's not what I am anymore. And I have no way of keeping it, nor looking at it."

He gently patted her forearm, "Things will be alright. The bots will take good care of you, Ellan."

"Yeah…" She didn't sound enthused at the idea, but she left the man to take care of her old body. By this time of night the kids and the woman had returned to their homes with their escorts, leaving her alone with Ratchet and Optimus, both of which were looking over data on the large screens in the main room. Both of them looked over at her and nodded, which she returned the gesture before calmly sitting on a stack of boxes. While they worked, she observed the room and everything in it.

Agent Fowler was wheeling the medical bed through a few moments later, Optimus pausing in his task to lift it onto the platform so Fowler could put it in the elevator. He soon departed their company and the base fell into relative quiet.

So caught up in her thought about what she needed to do to complete her new form, she didn't notice Ratchet standing before her, offering her some sort of odd device that was filled with a glowing blue liquid. She must have looked as puzzled as she felt as she looked up at him, because he was chuckling softly.

"It's energon. I wasn't sure if you needed it or not."

She looked back at the container and shook her head, "Until this happened, this thing didn't have any real power going to it. I had no idea what to do with the crystals they were giving me."

The medic bot gently took her left arm in his hand and pressed the device to it, the liquid rushing out of it and into her arm. It made her whole body tingle and her head throb as it began to absorb the liquid into its systems.

"It bothers me how much information M.E.C.H. was able to get off of those of us they had captured, but you did a good job overall with the structure of your form. Especially with the quality of parts you had available to use."

"I guess that it's a good thing that I had gotten as much done as I did." She was rubbing the entry point on her arm.

"The bare minimum for survival, I'm afraid." The medic gave her a rather friendly smile, "But we'll work on getting you in top form as soon as we can."

She only looked back up at him, "What if I just want you to shut me down?"

"That's not in our nature." Optimus had stepped up beside his old friend, letting her focus on him as well.

"You have no idea if I'm trustworthy, Optimus. Really. I could really be a plant from Silas, sent in to gain your trust and betray you to him."

The Prime only nodded. "You could very well be, but Agent Fowler, Ratchet, and I reviewed the last few logs you had made in addition to what Agent Fowler has told us about you and your service in the military. You stated your intent clearly from the first log to the last and we saw what had happened. We are truly sorry."

Ellan only shrugged. "It's happened. Can't really be changed." She looked down at her hands, clasped together in her lap with her legs crossed at the knees. A completely human position. "With everything that's happened, how drastically it happened and only now can I finally take into account what I've lost.

"I don't mean to sound selfish, I really don't, but right now all I can think about is all I've just lost. I won't be there to take care of my mother. After my father passed away it was just us. But I also knew that it wouldn't be the two of us forever.

"I guess it's the little things that I'll miss the most. Like a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream after playing for hours in the snow. Or the feel of the hot sand between my toes at the beach on a blistering summer's day. But I think the thing I'll miss the most is having children." She looked remorseful, "I always wanted to have kids."

The two male Autobots shared a look, feeling as remorseful as the female before them. Ratchet was the first to speak to her. "Why don't you go get some rest?"

Ellan nodded as she got up and bid them both a good night before heading back down the hall.

_[Location: Current M.E.C.H. headquarters]_

Silas' second in command frowned behind his mask as the soldiers he had sent to check on the supposedly most important and critical project that Silas had going, at least according to the M.E.C.H. leader. "What do you mean she _and_ the project were missing?"

The head of the team that was in charge of handling the supplies and the woman stood at attention still. "The whole laboratory was damaged. There was a hole that went all the way up to the surface, so I can see how she got out but not with the mecha. But with as much blood that we had found she wouldn't have gotten very far, especially since the nearest town is fifty miles away. The whole site has been sanitized, per loss procedures."

"Do you think that she would have really taken the time to take the hard drive out of the computer if she was injured?"

"We all know how much she hated the project, so to keep it from us I can see her doing it and taking it with her to her grave."

Silas' second sat back in his chair, his hands clasped before his invisible mouth. "It doesn't matter if she took the drives with her, the system automatically backed up here daily so we have everything up to the earthquake. This doesn't explain the missing project though. Once the desert team returns with their findings, I want that report."

The soldier saluted, then turned to leave. The second in command was bothered by the findings, which the whole project practically vanished on them. It would not bode well for them at all if the other powers in play had found their little project.

[Author's Note]

I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS PRIME NOR ANY CHARACTER IN THE SHOW. I'm just a fan that wanted to have a bit of fun with adding an OC into the TF Prime world.

Thank you for taking your time to read this and I hope to have more posted soon.


	4. Chapter 3

_[Location: Autobot Base]_

She settled in overall well in the week since her introduction to the world of the Cybertronians. Not being one to intrude herself in other's affairs, Ellan kept to herself and out of the way as she had always done in the human world. That was unless the kids were in the base. Jack and Raf were both respectful young men that stood back and let Miko do the talking overall, but when they were in the same room they inquired how she was settling in.

Miko was easy to hear with her loud exclamations and sound effects, not to mention her music. It seemed as if the young lady would seek her out shortly after arriving, asking her questions and poking her nose around. Ellan had to admit that she was slowly growing on her.

When it was just her and Ratchet at the base, the medic would allow her to read over mission files and would share his stories of the events before her time with them. The medic reminded her a lot of her grandfather, old fashioned, set in his ways, but always thinking. That little reminder helped ease some of the pain. When she could focus she worked with the medic bot on image designs for at least completing the coverings to her new body.

One afternoon, a rare occasion that most of them were in the base, the teens were in their area playing whatever video games they had at the time while Bulkhead and Bumblebee cheered them on. Ellan was hiding in one of the storage bays looking through some of the raw building supplies that Agent Fowler had delivered that day. Ratchet was working on his usual station, running a diagnostic to a new subsystem, while Arcee and Optimus were out scouting a new energon spike.

_[Location: Under the Southern Ozark Mountain Range]_

The cavern was extensive, but obviously mined into its size instead of naturally made. Wary of Decepticons, the pair slowly made their way through the series of large tunnels, running their scanners on high.

"I'm not sure I like the idea of keeping her at the base," Arcee stated plainly.

"You have the right to be cautious, Arcee," Optimus replied, "but remember that M.E.C.H. does not seem to be concerned over who they hurt to get what they want."

Recalling the night that M.E.C.H. had kidnapped June made the motorcycle pause with a frown. Getting herself back on track, she turned to watch Optimus' back as they moved further into the cavern. "That's true, but we don't know if she's even telling the truth or if this is an extreme ruse set up by M.E.C.H. to bring us down from the inside."

"She, too, has brought up that concern, fearful that she is an unwilling part in such a plan."

"Oh, that makes me feel loads better." The sarcasm was hard to miss in her voice, but she had to smile when she heard Optimus chuckle.

"Perhaps you should speak with her. That way you will have more to base your feelings on her, one way or another."

"Just don't expect me to make friends."

When it opened up into a huge expanse, both bots stopped short. This wasn't a Decepticon made mine. Down below were several humans working machines that were harvesting large quantities of energon crystals, at least in human standards. The humans were dressed in the usual M.E.C.H. uniform, including their covered faces. At the sight, Acree muttered her favorite swear. "Scrap…"

Both bots crouch low to keep from being spotted as they observed. What they had mined below was being loaded into large rail cars to their collective right. Arcee noted that the tracks were exactly the same as the ones that ran to the laboratory that Ellan was kept. While Optimus kept guard, his partner mapped the area for their records. Also they would add this location to the one where they picked up their newest member and try to see if there was really a connection to the railway.

"Grab what energon you can." Optimus ordered quietly.

"Optimus. We need to shut them down!" Arcee hissed back.

"With as much energon here, and not knowing exactly what is above us, we cannot risk a fire fight at the moment."

Knowing he was right, the female fighter slowly crawled backwards until she was completely out of view. Optimus joined her, the two gathering as many crystals they could carry, before he called Ratchet for a ground bridge back to base.

_[Location: Autobot Base]_

As the pair walked into the base the teens were rushing to see them enter, while Bulkhead and Bumblebee calmly walked over.

"What a haul!" Miko cheered.

"Did you find a useable energon mine?" the green wrecker asked, hope filling his voice. Bumblebee beeped and clicked his excitement as well, his face and body frame further conveying the emotion.

"We found a mine alright," Arcee said as she and Optimus gently deposited the crystals into a handful of crates, "but so did M.E.C.H."

"Which explains the crystals found in that laboratory," Ratchet said as he and the other two bots began to cart the crates further into the base.

"We found a similar rail way running through it as well." Optimus spoke next. "It should lead to other M.E.C.H. locations."

Ellan had heard the ground bridge activate and had walked in to see who was coming or going. When the three male bots moved towards her she quickly pressed herself against the wall to move out of their way, each thanking her in their own way. Seeing that there were other crates she moved over to help carry them. Optmus had grabbed one as well and began to follow, but when Ellan reached down to grab the last box Arcee got to it before she did and the blue fem-bot followed the others.

At a loss at what to do, she snapped her fingers then clapped her hands together, a nervous habit she had when she felt awkward, gave the kids her best smile and mumbled about going back to working in her room.

After the Autobots deposited the crates in the storage room set aside for just such special cargo, they filed back out of the room. As they passed Arcee stopped outside of Ellan's room, the door left open for anyone and everyone to see what she was doing. Ratchet and Optimus had stopped beside her to watch their newest member, who currently had her back turned towards them. Whatever she was working on she was focused intently with an arc welder in hand.

The leader gently patted her shoulder, which made her look up at him and then with a resigned sigh she stepped into the room. The two elder bots walked back into the main room so Optimus could update their maps.

The blue motorcycle stepped into the room, using her hand to shield her optics from the sparks the arc welder was spitting up once in a while. She waited until skeletal bot had stopped what she was doing before she spoke. "Doesn't look like a limb to me."

Ellan pulled off her welding helmet that she had made out of some spare parts she found laying around in what the former military tenants had left behind in some storage areas. Not looking up at Arcee, she set the arc welding torch down.

"I know you don't like me being here. I'm not liking the idea myself. I get it, you're the alpha female and you think I'm trying to nudge my way in. If there was someplace else for me to stay I would be there."

"Just a bit of a trust issue. Nothing good has ever come from M.E.C.H.."

"Agreed."

Arcee placed most of her weight on one foot as she rested her hand on the opposite hip, "So… if it's not a replacement limb… what is it?"

Ellan held up the cylinder with a rough looking handle on the side. "A mug. A poor attempt at one at least."

"Why?" Arcee tilted her head to the side to look at the object and even took a hold of it when Ellan passed it to her to look the object over. "We don't drink liquids."

"I know," Ellan sat back a bit with a smirk, "but I always did my best thinking with a mug in my hand, didn't matter if I had anything in it or not. Just something silly."

The motorcycle had to crack a smile at how quirky their new team member was. She was going to fit in just fine. "So what _are_ you going to do about your body?"

Ellan looked over at some frames. "Basing some of it off of you, since you are the only woman around that I can. I hope you don't mind."

"Just… try not to look like a repaint."

The newbie shared her humor with a chuckle of her own. "Don't worry. I'm not. Unfortunately I can't really do much to slim down the core frame, but I can make it more… curvy."

"How are you going to transform without a T-cog?"

"I'm not." She took the mug back, "I didn't build this completely according to their specs. I didn't allow for a T-cog, but I don't know if it would succeed with this poorly crafted form anyways."

"Maybe Ratchet can fix that."

"I'll accept his help, but he's already tried to take this over."

Arcee chuckled as she sat next to the other woman, "You'll get use to that."

[Author's Note]

I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS PRIME NOR ANY CHARACTER IN THE SHOW. I'm just a fan that wanted to have a bit of fun with adding an OC into the TF Prime world.

Thank you for taking your time to read this and I hope to have more posted soon.


	5. Chapter 4

_[Location: Autobot Base]_

There wasn't much of the core chasse that she could slim down due to the original bulky design, even though she had taken liberties before the accident. With this in mind she designed the rest to fit. The following couple of weeks Ratchet rather enjoyed the overall peace in the base. Ellan kept the teens occupied when they were there with assisting her with her project. Even though she had done most of the framework on her own, she was rather glad to have the help. Arcee and Jack assisted her with forming and attaching the plating to the limbs. Miko took advantage at the painting, actually telling Agent Fowler what colors she wanted.

It was Raf that helped her the most though with his knowledge of computers. The young man's smaller hands helped with connecting the wires. Since she also utilized him to help her with the coding needed for the additions and stabilizing the overall function, Bumblebee actually joined in on the project as well, though the scout was a bit bashful as the form came together.

With the pieces ready, Ellan and Ratchet took advantage of one of the quiet nights at the base to make her upgrade. Despite his protests, she stayed online during the replacements. She didn't feel anything while Ratchet removed and replaced limbs, added plating, and fine tuned the facial plating, which gave her a more expressive face.

Optimus had stayed at the scanning computer during the procedure, that way the pair could focus solely on the issue. The leader had turned to greet his team as the rev of engines proceeded them through the tunnel into the base. All three waited until their occupants exited before transforming.

Once they heard the teens climb up to the platform, Ratchet motioned for her to step out. Taking a deep, rather unneeded breath, she proceeded the medical bot into the main area gaining everyone's attention at their entrance.

She was taller than Arcee, but a foot shorter than Bumblebee. Thanks to the larger chasse, she was also wider in the shoulders than the motorcycle, but not by much. Her legs were a slightly bulkier version of Arcee's, with sharp points at the knees. Her arms were near sleek as they flowed up into the armored torso.

The metal plating now covering her was done in soft curves, and thanks to Miko's paint job, was a fiery red, that would have matched her human hair, with light silver accents and under plating. On the red, when it'd catch the light right, was almost holographic flames also done in a light silver. Her Autobot icon was the focus of a choker style design around her neck. Her helmet looked as if she had two small buns on the top back sides of her head, with light silver streaks to give her a look of hair. And her eyes were a glowing Autobot blue.

Calming herself, she snapped into attention and saluted as she focused on Optimus Prime. "Project: Adaptation operational, Sir. Elita-One reporting for duty."

Fin.

[Author's Note]

I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS PRIME NOR ANY CHARACTER IN THE SHOW. I'm just a fan that wanted to have a bit of fun with adding an OC into the TF Prime world.

I know this was short and probably would have gone well in the last chapter, but I felt best that it was set apart on its own. I also wasn't sure if there was going to be more to it until I got it out.

Thank you for taking your time to read my work and I hope you enjoyed it. I do have other ideas, but we'll see how fast my fingers can get them out.


End file.
